Illinois Republicans may deserve Spanky the Clown Carol Marin Published July 21, 2004 It's hard not to think of Spanky the Clown at a time like this. At 68, Ray "Spanky the Clown" Wardingley is a perennial Republican candidate who has worked as a stagehand, bit actor, taxi driver and some years ago as a clown. In 1995, to the shock and horror of the GOP, Wardingley actually won the Chicago Republican mayoral primary against four even more obscure candidates. With fewer than 9,000 ballots cast on the Republican side, Wardingley was the victor with 2,407 votes. His opponent, of...